Saturday, February 16, 2008

Dortmund Delights

So I've just got back from a training course in Germany; I'd never been before, asside from an overnight stop en route to Austria (first time I pissed in a sink if memory serves); the experience was unexpectedly pleasant.

Now the trip wasn't without issue; we weren't going and then...BANG we were; late approval left us with five minutes to arrange e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g; travel and accomodation arrangements made at high speed were fraught with error; bottom line...a tonne of extra effort for BB and unnecessary expenses here and there. Not very professional in execution but the job was done, which is what matters.

Half an hour prior to the take-off of our return flight though we hit more problems; the flight was cancelled due to fog and back to the Dortmund Airport Hotel we shuffled; we ended up spending two nights here, including Valentines Day; naturally there was comedic banter from the office but I think RG suffered more than I did...he's a heterosexual you know.

I started this article with the view to gushing about Germany and I seem to have gotten off track. Germans are polite, very polite; the buildings around Paderborn were beautiful, and clean and the architecture was crisp and bold...and I clearly don't have the vocabulary to discuss it. All the restaurants we tried had great selections, served good quality food and were reasonably priced; the beer is cheap; and there's more.

The best bit about Germany, from my perspective, is the toilets! The toilets in Germany are clean, sparkling clean...and I loved them; the urinals are flushable; the urinals (and I love this bit) are separated in cubicles...they're private...it's so civilised, I could cry.

I accept that I may have stumbled onto two or three toilets that just happened to be perfect, and I don't care; the experience was a good one for me and, as is the norm, leaves this land somewhat lacking upon return.

Addendum...I just caught the BBC Breakfast show feature this morning on UK public toilets and how shit they are. The bit that had me laughing was the close-up of a graffiti'd cubicle bearing the message 'I love James.S'."Lucky James" they said.